It was in Ruşen Çakır’s column: The topic is whether or not President Abdullah Gül will participate in the 2014 presidential elections.

If you will remember, the ruling Justice and Development Party (Ak Party) group in Parliament had issued a law to clear the way for the prime minister and increased the term of the president to seven years. That law also (of course without mentioning names) had banned Gül and Demirel from running for president again. The Constitutional Court annulled that law on the grounds that it was contrary to the Constitution.

In other words, according to the present situation, if Gül wanted to, he could be a candidate.

Most probably to prevent such a disaster, prominent figures from the Ak Party (such as Canikli-Bozdağ-Çelik) are issuing statement after statement and giving messages to Gül overtly or covertly for him “not to re-run.”

During the entire process of these developments, Gül did not say a word. Certain people knew that Gül was very angry at this situation but the statements kept coming. Then the press adviser to the president, Ahmet Sever, clarified the situation in this interview with Ruşen Çakır. The reactions of the president were summed up clearly. It was emphasized how offended Gül was and how patient he had been up until today.

The Gül-Erdoğan relationship was defined as “unprecedented, based on trust, a camaraderie beyond politics.”

Again, this development should not be interpreted as “Gül and Erdoğan have reached the stage of conflict.”

I don’t think it is so but if the prime minister chooses to ignore his closest friend’s reaction and allow those statements coming from the party to roam freely, then we can say that they will fall out in the end.

How to treat Barzani Developments in Syria have once again helped surface a deformity in our media. The “Kurdish Complex” has become more widespread again.

Cries of “Watch out, a Kurdish state will be formed… Be careful, we will be separated,” are increasing. Since not enough correct information is provided about the developments in Syria, a cacophony arises.

We have never been, for years, consistent on the stance toward Barzani. When he criticizes the PKK, then we carry him on our shoulders; then the next day we drag him through the mud saying, “Look, do you see? The guy’s aim is to form a Kurdish state.”

Official statements and the media’s wrong perception of these statements lie on the basis of this zigzag. Ankara issues a warning message for different reasons, the media perceives it differently.

Let’s leave what the officials say to one side and look at the facts: Barzani is neither an enemy of the Turks nor is he a pure Turkish friend.

Before anything else, he protects the interests of his people. For now, the interests of his people call for him to side with Turkey. He regards Turkey as a more reliable country than Iran. He is a leader who has openly said this.

As a matter of fact, he is now maintaining the equilibrium; he does not want the PKK to become extra strong and increase its influence in the region.

He is annoyed by the void in Syria. He is concerned that the separation among the Kurdish groups may run out of control. He is restricting all of his politics within this framework.

Won’t he change overnight? Of course, he may. If Turkey changes and toughens, then he will also get tough. However, because he is a realistic leader, he would not take unnecessary steps.

For today, Barzani is the only leader Turkey can establish a dialogue with in the region.

The more the media acts realistically and avoids Kurdishphobia, the better for all of us.